A conventional brassiere comprises of a pair of breast cups intended to cover and support the breasts of the wearer, a connector securing together the inner edges of the cups at the wearers cleavage, and at least one strap-like back or wing that extends from outer edges of the breast cups around the back of the wearer. The brassiere may further include shoulder straps that extend from upper edges of the breast cups over the shoulders of the wearer to attachment points on the strap-like back or wing crossing the wearers back.
It is also standard for a releasable closure to be provided either in the form of the connector securing together the inner edges of the cups at the wearer's cleavage hereinafter referred to as a front-closure type brassiere, or in a back-closure type brassiere, the back of the brassiere is formed by a pair of wings, one of which can be provided with at least one male closure member while the other is provided with at least one female closure member cooperating with the male closure member. The male closure member can be, for example, a metal hook while the female closure member can be an eye. This type of closures usually allows for some adjustment of the length of the wings enabling the wearer to adjust the back of the brassiere for optimum fit.
Generally the fabric wings of a brassiere include a rubber component to provide resilience. In particular, the rubber component is often provided at the edges of the back wing. While this structure provides the desired stretch and resilience, it is a disadvantage of using such rubber reinforcement that the wearer feels a localized pressure applied by the rubber to the skin causing a level of discomfort. This localised pressure zone may leave a mark on the wearers skin even once the garment if removed. Moreover, providing the rubber at the edges of the back wing results in a region of tightness where the fabric of the back wing is stretched which contrasts usually with a region of loose fabric between the edges of the back wing which are reinforced with rubber.
It would be desirable to provide an alternative back wing construction that can be used to manufacture a brassiere that is not only figure-enhancing, lightweight and aesthetically pleasing, but also comfortable to wear.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having reference to the following specification together with its drawings.